# Band 8d Divisional Head of Psychological Therapies - Bristol > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Trust Partnership NHS Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/band-8d-divisional-head-of-psychological-therapies-bristol/d148c4d0-7259-4801-b36c-40957fe724ea - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/band-8d-divisional-head-of-psychological-therapies-bristol/d148c4d0-7259-4801-b36c-40957fe724ea.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Trust Partnership NHS Trust - **Location:** Bath NHS House - **Workplace type:** onsite - **Profession:** Head of service - **Grade:** Band 8 - **Salary:** £94,356 - £108,814 per annum pro rata - **Contract type:** Permanent - **Employment type:** Part time - 22.5 hours per week - **Closing date:** 2026-10-12T22:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-09-28T11:00:58.919Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/Somerset/Bristol/Avon_Wiltshire_Mental_Health_Partnership_NHS_Trust/Psychological_Therapist/Psychological_Therapist-v7902198 - **Application URL:** https://apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/7902198?ShowJobAdvert=&feedid=9002 - **Employer website:** https://www.awp.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job overview AWP is looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Clinical Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist or fully accredited Psychotherapist to join us in the role of Divisional Head of Psychological Therapies in the BNSSG Senior Leadership Team. The post is for 22.5 hours per week 0.6 WTE. The post holder will play a key role in achieving our four strategic aims to provide outstanding care, to be a great place to work, to provide sustainable services and to deliver in partnership. ### Main duties of the job This is a pivotal senior leadership role within AWP, offering an experienced psychological professional the opportunity to actively shape the future direction and delivery of psychological and therapy services both within the Trust and across the BNSSG system. As a key member of the Division’s Senior Leadership Team, the postholder will be responsible for the strategic development, leadership and embedding of high‑quality, evidence‑based psychological and psychologically informed interventions across community and inpatient settings. The role will actively contribute to, and support, ambitious and complex transformation programmes, ensuring that psychological therapies are central to system‑wide service redesign and improvement. The postholder will provide expert leadership on key theoretical frameworks, service challenges and practice‑related issues, constructively challenging existing models where required and driving innovation to address complex and longstanding problems. You will seek creative, pragmatic solutions to barriers to access and delivery, promoting consistently high‑quality, safe and responsive care across the Division. This role requires a high level of credibility and influence, with exceptional communication skills across written, verbal and presentation formats. The successful candidate will be highly motivated, values‑driven and committed to continuous improvement, with a clear focus on improving outcomes and experience for people who use services. ### Detailed job description and main responsibilities A key focus of the role will be leading the scoping and co‑ordination of NICE‑recommended psychological therapies for people with serious mental illness and complex mental health needs across the BNSSG footprint. Working in close partnership with senior leaders in the third sector, IAPT services and wider system partners, you will support the development of a more standardised, equitable and sustainable model of provision, including the expansion of supervision and training capacity. The postholder will also lead on the co‑ordination of NHSE‑funded psychological therapy training programmes across BNSSG, including demand scoping, allocation of training places and alignment with strategic workforce priorities. LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE DEVELOPMENT To lead the scoping of the provision of NICE recommended psychological therapies and psychologically informed interventions across the BNSSG division (community and inpatient) for people with serious mental health problems. To work with partners in the VCSE sector and local IAPT services to develop a model to improve access to evidence based psychological interventions/ therapies for people with serious mental illness and complex mental health needs across BNSSG. To work collaboratively with system partners to develop a more standardised and equitable model of care for the provision of psychological therapies/ interventions, including expansion of supervision capacity. In particular you will focus on AWP provision across the BNSSG division. To provide professional leadership to the Divisional Therapies Services, ensuring that everyone receives support, supervision, annual appraisals and a development plan which ensures on-going service development that fits the needs and priorities of each sector. To work with the Clinical Director, locality Clinical Leads and Heads of Therapy to ensure good governance of these services. To strategically lead the planning and development of BNSSG Therapy Services working with other senior managers and Clinicians to ensure that these services meet the ambitions of the 10 year plan. To work with system partners to ensure a whole system approach to the provision of therapeutic interventions, training, supervision, clinical outcomes and service evaluation. To liaise with the Clinical Director, Division and Locality Managers/ Leads to ensure that an appropriate range of services and interventions are provided by psychological therapists within community teams and inpatient services, including IAPT. To take a lead role in service/business development and performance and clinical outcome monitoring of therapy services across BSNSSG. This includes horizon scanning for new service development opportunities which support the Divisional Business Plan, especially those working with system partners and Primary Care. To identify gaps in service provision and also to seek opportunities for the development of Therapy Services in the BNSSG Division within defined frameworks. To lead the redesign of therapy services across BNSSG division and work with the locality managers and leaders to redesign services promoting the development of services in line with national guidance. This includes ensuring that therapy services are integrated across care pathways so that interventions can be provided where the person is in their care. To be a source of clinical expertise to managers, professional colleagues and leaders within the Trust and across the BNSSG system on both public and internal matters. To deal with complaints and disciplinary matters in liaison with other managers and professional leads both within and outside of Therapies, especially those of a particularly complex nature. To support the negotiation of innovative, integrated ways of working with system partners to ensure service developments in the area of therapies are driven by population need. To convene and chair regular therapy meetings in the Division and across the BNSSG System to improve integration, monitor performance and outcome measures, share learning from experience and coordinate integrated approaches to quality improvement. To establish a framework for effective management of therapy staff in the Division. To ensure that Trust Health and Safety Regulations are adopted within the Therapy Services. To identify appropriate staffing levels and skill mix for Psychological Therapies, drawing on advice from relevant colleagues as required and promoting innovation. To promote the Trust in professional networks and to ensure that other Therapy staff do likewise in specific situations relevant to their posts and responsibilities. To manage senior clinical staff in divisional roles. To participate in the Senior Out of Hours on call Rota. CLINICAL (Note therapy covers Psychology, CBT/ IAPT, Arts Psychotherapy , Psychotherapy, Family Therapy Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Dietetics ) To provide a highly developed, evidence based clinical care comprising assessment, formulation and therapy, consultation and teaching and supervision. To formulate plans for the treatment and/or management of a client's mental health problems based upon an appropriate conceptual framework, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings. To be responsible for implementing a range of therapeutic interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses. To make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group. To be responsible for ensuring that all members of the therapy services have access to a psychologically based framework for the understanding and care of clients of the service, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of expert knowledge, research and theory. To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, complex information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care to clients, carers, relatives and other staff and respond appropriately in situations where there is hostility or a highly charged emotional atmosphere. To receive appropriate Clinical and Caseload supervision for all aspects of clinical work. To fully implement the Integrated Care Programme Approach in all aspects of clinical work. To carry a small highly complex caseload. PROFESSIONAL To fully observe relevant Professional Practice Guidelines. To work with Professional Leads to maintain and further develop high standards of practice, through co-operative work and peer supervision with other Therapy staff within and outside the Trust. To be aware of and adhere to Trust policies and procedures. CLINICAL AND PRACTICE GOVERNANCE To support the AWP Head of Psychological Therapies/ the AHP Lead in the development and implementation of effective Clinical Governance across the Therapy Services. To participate in Quality and Clinical Governance processes in the Division and across the Trust. To lead and assure on the delivery of effective, evidence-based therapy and therapeutic interventions (e.g. as recommended by NICE) across services in the division and across the BSW system. TRAINING AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT To provide advanced training for specialist practitioners within the Trust and to related agencies where agreed. To promote the Trust by developing a specialist profile through publications, national and international conference presentations and the provision of specialist training to various groups nationally. With the, Professional leads, Managers and the Learning & Development Team, to ensure a training plan is in place to meet the needs of Therapy staff and others including system partners. To work with the professional lead to ensure that all psychological therapists in the Area have an on-going training plan with annual appraisals based on the KSF. To agree a plan for personal development with the SBU Head of Psychological Therapies and professional lead and participate in an Annual Review. To support the development of training and supervision mechanisms to train a range of other professional groups in the delivery of psychological interventions as dictated by the SBU redesign project. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT To support, facilitate and supervise R&D activities by Therapy staff. To undertake research in topic areas relevant to the work of the service and to initiate and implement project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within and across the service to help develop and improve services to service users and their families. To work with the R&D department to promote opportunities for participation in research activities on behalf of the Division. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND RESOURCES To use IT equipment to delivery services, prepare reports, for teaching presentations, to record activity data and for the analysis of data from research and audit. To maintain skills in IT, updating where necessary, in order to carry out the tasks in 2 above effectively. COMMUNICATIONS AND KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS To be responsible for establishing good working relationships and communications with Therapy staff, staff from other professions, and other agencies. To establish effective working relationships in the Area and across the Division Divisional Directors and the Operations Directorate Locality Managers, Clinical Leads and Therapy Managers All relevant partners in the BNSSG ICA/ICSs and Local Authorities Users/Carers Representatives Police, Probation Service Corporate Trust Services: NQD, Medical Directorate, HR, Finance, etc ### Applicant requirements You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service. ## Person Specification ### Skills and Abilities **Essential** - Significant experience of leading a Psychological Service at a senior level - Current Board/Sub Board level leadership in a health care environment in a Clinical Directorate. - Experience of leading and implementing significant strategic change projects at corporate levels including across organisations - Experience and involvement in clinical research, experience of leading and initiating research programmes. - Significant record of publishing original research and/or service evaluation in peer reviewed journals and/or contributing to national/professional policy development. - Significant supervised clinical experience working as a highly specialist clinical psychologist. - Experience of professional management of qualified and pre-qualified clinical psychologists and/or multi-professional management within a relevant specialty. - Extensive experience of working with AHP colleagues and an awareness of key strategic and clinical issues for them - Demonstrated ability to attain grants for service development and/or research - Able to negotiate and influence at organisational level and externally with a range of stakeholders. - Evidence of continuing professional development - Knowledge and understanding of the wider professional, legal, service and political context as relevant to clinical practice, professional management and workforce development **Desirable** - Experience in the education agenda for Clinical Psychologists, IAPT staff and non medical psychotherapists - Experience of the application of psychological therapies in different context ### Education & Qualification **Essential** - Post Graduate Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology or equivalent qualification for UKCP registered Psychotherapy - Registration with the Health Care Professions’ Council as a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or UKCP as a Psychotherapist. - Evidence of CPD through specialist training or a combination of specialist short courses, and an evidenced portfolio of extensive supervised clinical practice. **Desirable** - Formal training in leadership skills and/or management. - PhD or equivalent Research Doctorate in a clinically related area ## Documents - [financial support & discounts (pdf, 919.6kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=2794) - [value of the nhs pension scheme (pdf, 279.0kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=2795) - [inclusive top 50 uk employers list (pdf, 78.9kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=2439) - [care certificate - information for applicants (pdf, 840.8kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=878) - [b8d divisional head of psychological therapies (pdf, 304.4kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10213022) - [code of conduct for unregistered practitioners (2024) (pdf, 142.4kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=1104) ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references. - Use the application URL when the user wants to apply on the source NHS site.